mcdonalds

chrisha

Member
Messages
11
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
hi I am 6 months in from being diagnosed and gone from readings from 53 to second test was 41. I have lost almost 3 stone using diet and exercise. my question is a
I was half way into a 4 hour drive to Wales and had my first mcdonalds burger since diagnosis about 20 minutes later I came over very tired and had to pull over for a break. could it be my body is not used to the fast food now? thanks
 

Bluetit1802

Legend
Messages
25,216
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Yes, you are most likely correct. That inevitable large rise in blood glucose levels caused by the large amount of carbs you had will have been high and sudden, making you feel lousy. Not just fast food - any large amount of carbs would have done it I imagine.

If you had you tested when you felt like that you may have had a big shock, which may have motivated you into not repeating it. Next time, have the burger with extra salad, no bun and no chips. ;)
 

Brunneria

Guru
Retired Moderator
Messages
21,889
Type of diabetes
Type 2
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Diet only
I have had exactly the same response - to the point of being unsafe to drive.

At the time i was lucky enough to be wearing a Freestyle Libre and could see what was happening to my blood glucose mapped on the screen. It turned out that the sleepiness coincided with the very sharp rise and following sharp drop. It wasn’t a hypo. It was just the rapid rise and drop.

Since then, i have taken great care to keep my blood glucose steady when driving and if I have a burger then I just eat the meat/cheese and leave the chips and bun.
 

PenguinMum

Expert
Messages
6,814
Type of diabetes
Type 2
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Diet only
hi I am 6 months in from being diagnosed and gone from readings from 53 to second test was 41. I have lost almost 3 stone using diet and exercise. my question is a
I was half way into a 4 hour drive to Wales and had my first mcdonalds burger since diagnosis about 20 minutes later I came over very tired and had to pull over for a break. could it be my body is not used to the fast food now? thanks
I do sympathise, theres nothing available at these motorway pit stops but sandwiches, pastries or burger joints. There are a few M&S food outlets creeping in so next time I hope to be able to get packets of cold meat, cheese or salad bowls instead. The only thing is sometimes you just want something hot.
 

lucylocket61

Expert
Messages
6,435
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
some services have a Subway, and you can get most of their sandwich fillings with a salad platter instead of bread. They are lovely and fresh and tasty.
 
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Bluetit1802

Legend
Messages
25,216
Type of diabetes
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Diet only
We have always taken our own picnic food on journeys, even before diabetes struck, although my particular lunch box is now full of different things. We were forced into a motorway service stop for food a few years ago as we'd been held up 4 separate times due to accidents. Instead of reaching our destination by 4pm it was 9pm when we had to stop from hunger and frustration, still a couple of hours away. I have never had such a disgusting meal in my entire life. Plastic fish that was more breadcrumbs than fish, cardboard chips, and no vinegar to be had anywhere. I couldn't eat it. Never again.
 

PenguinMum

Expert
Messages
6,814
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
It is good if you can pack what you need. Sometimes you just have to leave at a minutes notice as I did many times to drive to the ferry in Wales during the last year of my mothers life. I usually kept going and ate on the ferry eating jelly tots in the car. Those days are certainly over!
 

Japes

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,633
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
I had a similar experience with a Burger King meal about 2 years ago, on an unplanned, unfamiliar emergency long journey, which convinced me to cut right back on carbs from then on, as I was horrified at the meter readings I was seeing every time I stopped. I was just beginning to connect the extreme sleepiness after meals with too high for me levels of carbs.

I've never relied on being able to get food I can eat ever since whilst travelling and now channel the spirits of my elderly great-aunts who I often stayed with during school holidays and who would pack me off on the train journey home with enough food to keep the entire train full of people going for the eight hours. (In fact, one year, I do remember offering some of it to all around, and still having loads when I got home.)
 
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LittleGreyCat

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Messages
4,245
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Diet drinks - the artificial sweeteners taste vile.
Having to forswear foods I have loved all my life.
Trying to find low carb meals when eating out.
May be unpopular but.....Lidl rolls!!
Just come back from the Diabetes UK Professional Conference Insider (outstanding) and I took two Lidl rolls with cheese (and a cheeky bit of brown sauce). This can keep me going all day (no, not like that) with no hunger pangs.
Quick to prepare and always good to have with you.
Doesn't take up a lot of space, either.
 

Rosiegough_

Well-Known Member
Messages
268
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Evil beings. Destroying our beautiful Planet X
You can have a McDonald’s still just don’t eat the bread, it works for me x it goes without saying that shouldn’t have the chips either x
 
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LittleGreyCat

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,245
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Diet drinks - the artificial sweeteners taste vile.
Having to forswear foods I have loved all my life.
Trying to find low carb meals when eating out.
Mr. Picky says that however much of a rush you are in to get out of the house and into the car, it takes less time to prepare a packed meal than it does to queue in McDonalds part way through the journey.

More haste, less speed. Healthier too. Removes the anxiety of looking for a food outlet. I could go on......
 
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Hotpepper20000

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2,065
McDonald’s Here have decent salads. I ask for double chicken and throw out the packets of sweetened nuts, bread cubes and sweet salad dressing.
For Long trips I always pack a cooler with food.
I’ve done this for years even before LCHF
 

Resurgam

Expert
Messages
9,868
Type of diabetes
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Diet only
I used to have a motorbike and sidecar and the sidecar had a tiny boot. I had a couple of mess tins and two of the little calor gas stoves, spare gas, matches, a jar with coffee powder, space for a couple of bottles of water some cutlery and metal plates and cups - and before setting off I would call at the shops around the corner and stock up with whatever I fancied - then whenever I felt the need I'd stop and have something to eat.
In later years when I went off to folk festivals I had a plastic box with the cooking things in there - and I was often the subject of envy as I stirred my fragrant pans whilst sipping my coffee. Even when it was raining, having something to eat made it more cheerful. I'd never want to have to rely on finding something to eat, particularly now.
 

LouWilk059

Well-Known Member
Messages
376
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
dishonesty, people who throw garbage out on to the streets,
When we're off to visit grandkids (1400 kms away), I usually pack boiled eggs, cheese, jerky /pepperoni sticks. If we stop at restaurant, its usually just for coffee in the am and if for dinner, Subway where I have salad instead of sub.
 

Celsus

Well-Known Member
Messages
483
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Sorry for being a Type1 intruding in the Type2 conversation, but...
Your subject headline made me both curious and hungry! :hungry:

Personally I do perfectly fine by stopping on the road for a meal at McDonalds.
Typically I take one of the big ones with double burger in it, with pickles and all.
But... (there is always a but, isnt there? :))

I always throw away the top bun, so ony eating it with the bottom bun.
And I never eat any fries. But at McDonalds they also give you the option to get it with their salad instead.
And then flush it all down with a cold refreshing Coke Zero.

A good stuffing meal and its not bad at all, and doesnt cause havoc with your bg levels either.
And order one of their fresh fruits while you are at it, then you also have a little goodie for your next car stop 1 hour later.
 

LooperCat

Expert
Messages
5,223
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Other
I have to pack food as if I were going to be stranded for at least three meals when I leave the house for a long journey - I’m allergic to meat, poultry and cow dairy, and with low carbing, there is basically nothing except salted peanuts that I can eat at service stations and garages. So I have an insulated satchel, and I carry olives, goat cheese, unsalted nuts, keto crackers, a Lidl high protein roll, hard boiled eggs, goat butter and sometimes add in an avocado. I also include a set of cutlery, a sharp knife (with blade protector!) and I’ve got a collapsible bowl that’s actually for a dog but works great for me too!

Oh, and a small bottle of carb free chilli & garlic sauce and some mayonnaise ;)
 

BB8.HG

Well-Known Member
Messages
101
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
If you're in a bind at motorway services, Burger King will do you a bun-free burger. They just put it in a plastic box.
 
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